Hunter
01/30/20
More details are coming out in the case of an Iowa City man accused of abusing a child sexually and with verbal threats. Police now say more than one child was involved in the abuse.
According to arrest reports, 28-year-old Jorge Maldonado of Laura Drive sexually assaulted a minor before school on December 18th. The victim states that Maldonado dragged her to a bedroom where he committed the assault. She tried to get away but accused Maldonado of holding onto her.
Police now say the minor had suffered previous abuses that go back to June of last year, where Maldonado allegedly used and threatened the victim with physical violence including death.
The girl states that he threatened to seriously hurt or kill the child’s mother and/or siblings and burn the house down with them in it. The physical force and the threats of violence caused the child not to report Maldonado’s alleged abuse until Maldonado was no longer in the home.
The second victim is under 12 years of age. During a forensic interview, the victim disclosed that Maldonado had sexual contact in the family home on at least one occasion after the summer of 2019 while the child’s mother was at work.
Maldonado was taken into custody on December 23rd and is now charged with two counts of 2nd Degree Sexual Abuse, each of which is a class B felony punishable by a prison term of up to 25 years if convicted. Two counts of Incest were also charged, each of which is a Class D felony that comes with a maximum five years in prison.
Maldonado entered a written plea of not guilty last week. A trial date has been set for March 24th with a case management conference scheduled for March 6th. A no-contact order was ordered between Maldonado and the alleged victims.